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‘Doesn’t make sense’: Business leaders say halted trade talks harm India and Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

MONTREAL — Business leaders continue to grapple with the economic uncertainty fostered by the rift between the Canadian and Indian governments, saying the suspension of free trade talks hurts both sides.The heads of several commercial groups say the souring relationship marks a major hurdle to boosting bilateral trade beyond last year’s $20.9 billion in goods and services and deters Indian students from studying in Canada.Relations between the two countries eroded after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament on Sept. 18 that New Delhi may have been involved in the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh independence activist.In response, the Indian government suspended visa services for Canadian citizens — partially restored last month — and revoked diplomatic immunity from Canadian diplomats, prompting two-thirds of them to leave the country.Canada India Foundation chairman Satish Thakkar says cancelling the trade talks — Canada halted them on Sept. 1 ...

Cadillac Fairview shifts Montreal development project to rentals from office space

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

MONTREAL — Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd. says it will build a project in downtown Montreal as rental apartments, rather than its original plan for office space. The developer says that 750 Peel, part of its much larger redevelopment in the city’s core, will have 510 rental units with a 2026 completion date.It had previously said the development would consist of two towers offering 1.2 million square feet of office space, but now only says that it will have some co-working and meeting spaces along with the rental units.The shift to rental construction comes as office vacancies hit all-time highs while housing options are critically short.In November last year, the developer announced a $4.7-billion residential construction plan that it says could deliver 7,000 rental units across 20 buildings. Cadillac Fairview, owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, recently started construction on its first rental building in CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa.This report by The Canadian P...

Trial opens for ex-top Baltimore prosecutor charged with perjury tied to property purchases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A former top Baltimore prosecutor lied about her finances during the COVID-19 pandemic to improperly access retirement funds that she used to buy two homes in Florida, a federal prosecutor said Monday at the start of Marilyn Mosby’s perjury trial. “This case is about a lawyer and a public servant who placed her own selfish interests above the truth,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Delaney told jurors during the trial’s opening statements.A defense attorney countered that Mosby — who gained a national profile for prosecuting Baltimore police officers after Freddie Gray, a Black man, died in police custody — was legally entitled to withdraw the money and spend it however she wanted. Mosby told the truth when she certified on paperwork that the pandemic harmed a travel-related business that she formed, said the lawyer, Maggie Grace.“This case is about a three-page form and what was in Marilyn Mosby’s mind when she completed that form,” said Grace, an ass...

Hezbollah and Hamas’ military wings in Lebanon exchange fire with Israel. Tension rises along border

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

RMEISH, Lebanon (AP) — The military wing of Palestinian group Hamas said Monday it fired rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, triggering Israeli airstrikes on the Lebanese side of the border. The Qassam Brigades said in a statement its militants fired 16 rockets on the town of Nahariya and the southern outskirts of the city of Haifa in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Gaza. Haifa is the furthest city targeted by rockets from the Lebanese side since the start of the Israel-Hamas war nearly a month ago.The Israeli army said approximately 30 rockets were fired from the Lebanese side targeting northern Israel, adding it was responding by shelling the origin points of rocket launches. The exchange lasted about half an hour and Israel’s Iron Dome could be clearly seen intercepting rockets from Lebanon. Relative clam prevailed afterward. About three hours later, Israel’s air force carried out airstrikes on “Hezbollah targets” inside Lebanon, Israeli military spokesman Avichay...

Ontario registered nurses soon able to prescribe birth control, travel medication

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

Registered nurses in Ontario will soon be able to prescribe certain medications such as birth control and drugs for smoking cessation.Health Minister Sylvia Jones says expanding registered nurses’ scope of practice gives people in Ontario more convenient access to care and will reduce wait times at community clinics and hospitals.It follows a series of other expansions the government has made recently to the scope of practice for nurses and other professionals such as pharmacists and midwives.The province says that the nurses will need to complete additional education in order to prescribe, and registration is set to open in January. Related: Ontario plans to expand midwives’ prescribing power Ontario expands pharmacist prescription powers, adding 6 more common ailments Registered nurses who complete that training would be able to prescribe birth control, smoking cessation drugs, travel medications to treat and prevent malaria and travelle...

Orsted wants out of $300M forfeiture for scrapped New Jersey offshore wind farms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — Offshore wind power company Orsted is trying to get out of a $300 million guarantee it agreed to pay New Jersey in the event it failed to build its first wind farm off the state’s coast.Last Tuesday, the Danish firm scrapped its Ocean Wind I and II projects in southern New Jersey, saying the projects were no longer financially feasible. The company cited supply chain issues, inflation and a failure to gain enough government tax credits.The next day, Orsted wrote to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, saying it was withdrawing from an agreement it signed with the state under which it would forfeit the money if it did not build Ocean Wind I.The company said it was doing so because the board had not taken final action to approve the agreement.“The Board has not issued a final approval of the Compliance Filing,” Orsted wrote in a letter to the utilities board, saying it was withdrawing from the agreement “due to changed circumstances.”The company said...

Albania agrees to temporarily house migrants who reach Italy while their asylum bids are processed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

ROME (AP) — Albania agreed Monday to give temporary shelter to some of the thousands of migrants who reach Italian shores while their asylum bids are being processed, offering its neighbor across the Adriatic Sea some relief in managing some of the arrivals. The groundbreaking initiative was announced after Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni met in Rome with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. Italy will pay for the construction of two centers in Albania which can hold up to 3,000 migrants at a time, under the deal. Children and pregnant women will be excluded from the plan. If Italy rejects the asylum bids, Albania would deport the migrants. Albania would also provide external security for the two centers, which would be under Italian jurisdiction, Meloni told reporters.Meloni said if asylum applications are swiftly processed, as many as 36,000 migrants could be sent for processing on Albanian territory annually. That could help relieve chronic overcrowding at initial asylum processing c...

Reports: Cubs hiring Craig Counsell to replace David Ross as manager

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

CHICAGO — Longtime Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell will be heading down I-94 to take over the reigns of the Chicago Cubs from David Ross, according to multiple reports.Counsell, 53, has managed the Brewers since 2015.David Ross was hired in late 2019 after World Series champion Joe Maddon was not brought back following a division collapse to the Cardinals.Toward the end of October, Counsell was granted permission by the Brewers to interview for multiple teams — with many connecting him to the Mets. New York hired Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza Monday morning and MLB insiders then said Counsell is expected to be hired by a team with a current manager.Ross, a 2016 World Series champion who hit a home run in Game 7, was 264-284 in four seasons on the North Side.The 46-year-old signed a contract extension last year through the 2024 season with an option for 2025.WGN News will update this story once more information becomes available.

Chicago police officer shot and wounded on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer was shot and wounded Monday on the city's South Side.According to authorities, a suspect is in custody.The shooting happened around 12 p.m. in the 7310 block of South Dante Avenue in the Grand Cross neighborhood.The Chicago Fire Department confirms an officer was shot in the arm and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.The fire department said a civilian was also transported to the same hospital in extremely critical condition with a gunshot wound. 11-year-old girl shot while inside home on South Side This is a developing story. Check back for details.

Rescues made in extra-alarm fire on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:52 GMT

CHICAGO — Fire crews were on the scene of an extra-alarm fire in the city's Oakland neighborhood Monday morning.According to fire officials, the fire was caused by careless use of smoking materials.The three-alarm fire broke out around 7 a.m. on the seventh floor of an apartment high-rise in the 3500 block of South Cottage Grove. Residents were sent running down the stairs to evacuate the building.About 150 fire crews reponded to the scene. An EMS Plan 2 was called for additional ambulances as some residents were evaluated for smoke inhalation and transported to nearby hospitals.Emergency crews on the scene rescued at least two people, pulling them out of their apartment windows.Warming buses are being brought to the scene for displaced residents.Residents said more than 100 people live in the building, a majority of those people being seniors. It is unknown when they will be allowed back into their homes.